Kevness
My son is pretty observant, and he is normally quick to question or comment on what he notices and/or doesn’t understand. That’s why I was surprised that he didn’t say anything about this until now.
This morning’s pre-getting-up conversation was about:
Kev: “I don’t get it. Every morning, when I wake up, my penis is sticking straight up.”
Me: “Yep, that’s called an erection.”
Kev: “What’s erection mean?”
Me: “Erect means standing straight up. Like your penis does.”
Kev: “But it’s weird. No matter how hard I try to use my strength in my crotch to push it down, it stays up.”
Me: “Right. That’s because blood vessels in your penis fill up and make it erect, so pushing on it or using your squeezy muscles won’t make it go down. And that’s normal. Most bigger boys, which you are becoming, and men wake up with erections.”
Kev: “They do?”
Me.: “Yep.”
Kev: “So it’s gonna stick out like this for hours?”
Me: “No. After you pee it should go down again.”
:::Boy scuffles off to the bathroom, does his thing, gets dressed:::
Kev: “Hey Mom, you’re right! It’s not sticking up anymore!” :::pokes to prove it::: “Hey how do you know about penis stuff when you don’t have one?”
Me: “The answer to that is the answer to most questions: because I am Mom. That and my brother told me when I was a kid.”
Kev: “Good thing you have a brother or else I’d think my penis is broken.”
All before 8 a.m. Pre-coffee.
Now as I said before, Kev’s observant and he questions and comments on almost everything. This kid has woken up with baby boner for 8+ years, and he’s just asking about it now. That’s unusual for him. Or maybe it’s just occurred to him that it happens every day, like he’s suddenly keeping track.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that he’s only 8 years old. That’s because some of the things he does/thinks/says is so beyond 8. He started asking about genetics - chromosomes and Down Syndrome specifically, last night during dinner. One of his classmates (who has bonded with Kevin - it’s very nice) has DS and Kev wants to know all about it. Then he expanded the “want to know” to include everything about chromosomes and DNA and genetics. Research started last night and will continue until who knows when. And he’s 8. Remember when he was 6, a first year in Montessori elementary, and he did a presentation on pregnancy, fetal development, and child birth to his classmates? Age 6. Who does that?? My kid.
And then in the car this morning, he asked, “Isn’t it weird that if you hit someone with a car by accident, you don’t get arrested, but if you do it on purpose, you get arrested?” A conversation about intent ensued, which turned to a personal responsibility discussion. I told him that sometimes one will be arrested even if it’s an accident, like driving drunk. Then a conversation about “drunk” and moderation and alcoholism ensued. (Keep in mind this talk is all during our ride to school. Again, before I’ve had one drop of coffee). I told Kev that one of his uncles is an alcoholic and it’s destroyed his life, and he said, “Jeez, why don’t they just make a medicine to get rid of the addiction to alcohol thing?” I said, “They haven’t come up with one yet.” And he said, “Well, they should. And then they should put it in bottles of alcohol and tell the alcoholics that there’s EXTRA alcohol in those bottles. Then the alcoholics will drink the bottles with the medicine in them and be cured.”
Wow. That’s rather...interesting. And original. And sneaky. That’s MY BOY!!
That’s also a lot to mull around and discuss with an 8 year old in the span of an hour. Pre-coffee.
This morning’s pre-getting-up conversation was about:
Kev: “I don’t get it. Every morning, when I wake up, my penis is sticking straight up.”
Me: “Yep, that’s called an erection.”
Kev: “What’s erection mean?”
Me: “Erect means standing straight up. Like your penis does.”
Kev: “But it’s weird. No matter how hard I try to use my strength in my crotch to push it down, it stays up.”
Me: “Right. That’s because blood vessels in your penis fill up and make it erect, so pushing on it or using your squeezy muscles won’t make it go down. And that’s normal. Most bigger boys, which you are becoming, and men wake up with erections.”
Kev: “They do?”
Me.: “Yep.”
Kev: “So it’s gonna stick out like this for hours?”
Me: “No. After you pee it should go down again.”
:::Boy scuffles off to the bathroom, does his thing, gets dressed:::
Kev: “Hey Mom, you’re right! It’s not sticking up anymore!” :::pokes to prove it::: “Hey how do you know about penis stuff when you don’t have one?”
Me: “The answer to that is the answer to most questions: because I am Mom. That and my brother told me when I was a kid.”
Kev: “Good thing you have a brother or else I’d think my penis is broken.”
All before 8 a.m. Pre-coffee.
Now as I said before, Kev’s observant and he questions and comments on almost everything. This kid has woken up with baby boner for 8+ years, and he’s just asking about it now. That’s unusual for him. Or maybe it’s just occurred to him that it happens every day, like he’s suddenly keeping track.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that he’s only 8 years old. That’s because some of the things he does/thinks/says is so beyond 8. He started asking about genetics - chromosomes and Down Syndrome specifically, last night during dinner. One of his classmates (who has bonded with Kevin - it’s very nice) has DS and Kev wants to know all about it. Then he expanded the “want to know” to include everything about chromosomes and DNA and genetics. Research started last night and will continue until who knows when. And he’s 8. Remember when he was 6, a first year in Montessori elementary, and he did a presentation on pregnancy, fetal development, and child birth to his classmates? Age 6. Who does that?? My kid.
And then in the car this morning, he asked, “Isn’t it weird that if you hit someone with a car by accident, you don’t get arrested, but if you do it on purpose, you get arrested?” A conversation about intent ensued, which turned to a personal responsibility discussion. I told him that sometimes one will be arrested even if it’s an accident, like driving drunk. Then a conversation about “drunk” and moderation and alcoholism ensued. (Keep in mind this talk is all during our ride to school. Again, before I’ve had one drop of coffee). I told Kev that one of his uncles is an alcoholic and it’s destroyed his life, and he said, “Jeez, why don’t they just make a medicine to get rid of the addiction to alcohol thing?” I said, “They haven’t come up with one yet.” And he said, “Well, they should. And then they should put it in bottles of alcohol and tell the alcoholics that there’s EXTRA alcohol in those bottles. Then the alcoholics will drink the bottles with the medicine in them and be cured.”
Wow. That’s rather...interesting. And original. And sneaky. That’s MY BOY!!
That’s also a lot to mull around and discuss with an 8 year old in the span of an hour. Pre-coffee.